4 TREES AND TREE-PLANTING. 
of sand and gravel, over which, though, in the hot season 
we passed dry-shod ; in winter sealike torrents thunder ; 
the entrances of navigable streams are obstructed by 
sand-bars ; and harbors once marts of an extensive com- 
merce are shoaled by deposits of the rivers at whose 
mouths they lie.” 
If we admit that trees are an essential to civilization, 
we may as well at once say man cannot advance in im- 
provement beyond the rudest form of pastoral life with- 
out the use of timber. Even in this age of iron, steel, 
and coal, we can hardly estimate our dependence upon 
wood. The pen we write with is held by a wooden 
handle; the chair we sit upon is made of wood, the floor 
beneath our feet is of wood, and the building in which 
we live (except possibly the walls) is of wood. This ma- 
terial enters into every want of our lives, and contributes 
daily and hourly to our convenience. The question natu- 
rally arises, Will our countrymen go on destroying an ar- 
ticle of such absolute necessity, without some regard to 
the source of a future supply? As for others I know 
not, but as for myself I say no; we will stop this wan- 
ton destruction of the beautiful trees at once, and so use 
them as to leave a portion for our children when we are 
gone. 
In some of the older states the want of timber is al- 
ready severely felt. Hills and mountains once covered 
with beautiful forests are bald and unsightly. The 
streams that once turned the mills to denude these for- 
ests have dried up, or shrunk away to inconsiderable 
rivulets. It cannot be otherwise, with our rapidly in- 
creasing millions, than that the demand for timber will 
increase, and the destruction go on rather than diminish. 
I see no way but to meet this question with sturdy laws. 
In Germany, France, and some other countries of Eu- 
rope the forests are the property of the government. 
Their management has been reduced to a system, and 
they are guarded with the greatest care from wanton 
